It was a visit to those brainy academics, the Dominicans, yesterday near Belsize Park. I did like them. Very friendly and I loved their church, though it bone chillingly cold in there. We had a guided tour of this huge church with its thirteen chapel, each one represents one of the mysteries of the Rosary. Fascinating stuff. One of the chapels has recently been restored and looks lovely. Other parts of the church have also been restored. I can imagine what it will be like if they ever get enough money to to finish it.
The altar is amazing, very baroque. It must be an incredible place to worship in. After the tour we were taken into the Priory where we were served tea and biscuits and had the chance to find out more about the Order. As I said, they are an academic lot and when you apply to join you need something like seven references and are interviewed by a board of eight people who you see individually as they are based around the country. They study theology (of course!) and philosophy as well as other subjects but they are BIG on philosophy. Their big influence is St Thomas Aquinas who studied the Greek philosophers. They love to question and study and teaching is big on their agenda. They work in schools and universities. Their motto is Veritas, meaning 'truth' and this is what they search for and aim to teach. In the dark past they stood against the heretics known as the Cathars (Albigensain heresy).
These days their numbers are stable and they have houses around the country. Their General at the moment is Fr Timothy Radcliffe, OP who writes and gives lectures (in fact I watched him on YouTube last year delivering a lecture in St Paul's Cathedral and found him very down to earth and very interesting).
My own vicar spent a year here. I can see now why he is so learned. It all fits. The room we sat in had comfy chairs with a nice view through the windows on either side. I noticed straightaway that they had a wide screen TV! However, the area they work in is quite poor which is a slight difference from where their other houses are situated.
They meet twice a day for prayer and the other 'offices' they say on their own wherever they happen to be. Please look at the websites to learn more. There is a link on the first one to where I was yesterday and has some great photos. Click on 'Our Priories' and at the bottom click 'London'.
The altar is amazing, very baroque. It must be an incredible place to worship in. After the tour we were taken into the Priory where we were served tea and biscuits and had the chance to find out more about the Order. As I said, they are an academic lot and when you apply to join you need something like seven references and are interviewed by a board of eight people who you see individually as they are based around the country. They study theology (of course!) and philosophy as well as other subjects but they are BIG on philosophy. Their big influence is St Thomas Aquinas who studied the Greek philosophers. They love to question and study and teaching is big on their agenda. They work in schools and universities. Their motto is Veritas, meaning 'truth' and this is what they search for and aim to teach. In the dark past they stood against the heretics known as the Cathars (Albigensain heresy).
These days their numbers are stable and they have houses around the country. Their General at the moment is Fr Timothy Radcliffe, OP who writes and gives lectures (in fact I watched him on YouTube last year delivering a lecture in St Paul's Cathedral and found him very down to earth and very interesting).
My own vicar spent a year here. I can see now why he is so learned. It all fits. The room we sat in had comfy chairs with a nice view through the windows on either side. I noticed straightaway that they had a wide screen TV! However, the area they work in is quite poor which is a slight difference from where their other houses are situated.
They meet twice a day for prayer and the other 'offices' they say on their own wherever they happen to be. Please look at the websites to learn more. There is a link on the first one to where I was yesterday and has some great photos. Click on 'Our Priories' and at the bottom click 'London'.
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